Color-alert system must change, says security chair

Dan EggenThe Washington Post

Published Monday, December 29, 2003

WASHINGTON -- A leading House Republican said Sunday that the Homeland Security Department needs to reform its color-coded alert system to avoid alarming people who are not at risk and to reduce the impact of idle threats from al-Qaida terrorists.

Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., who chairs the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, said the current terrorist threat system, which assigns a color to each of five risk levels, may be alarming "an awful lot of people who really can't do much with this information other than hand-wring and hanky-twist."

"The terrorists are playing a losing game," Cox said on "Fox News Sunday." "But if by making idle threats that are always taken seriously by people who are just scared, we can impose enormous costs on the country and the terrorists can impose enormous costs on the country. ... That turns their losing game into a winning game."

At the same time, Cox said, there was "good reason" to raise the threat level on Dec. 21 to orange, or "high risk," because of increased intelligence indicating plans for terrorist attacks on the United States. He said the alert would remain elevated through the New Year's Day holiday weekend, but that the intelligence "was not specific as to any date, time or place."

Cox also echoed the complaints of other U.S. officials that an announcement last week that six Air France flights had been canceled may have tipped off suspects who avoided arrest.